Harry Potter and the Forgotten Fort
by RockerRae
Summary: Harry Potter enters his sixth year at Hogwarts to more of the sour Potions Master, ego-ruining rumors, mystery, and romance. He has a new "friend" in the works, the heir of his godfather. But even the walls of Hogwarts can't keep out the uprising danger.
1. The Undiscovered Black

The Undiscovered Black  
  
As Lupin led them inside, Harry, Ron, and Hermione couldn't help but notice the defiant change in the Black house. The walls, furniture, and artwork had changed completely. Instead of the dark, forbidding look it had held earlier that year, it was now bright, cheery, and welcoming. The furniture  
was new-agey, yet still had a hint of old-english taste.  
  
"Welcome to the newly owned and improved house of Black!" said Lupin, who had caught the look of surprise on their faces and welcomed them with a smile. "Any complaints go to the owner, who couldn't stand the 'grunginess'  
of the place."  
  
"Owner?" said Hermione, bewildered. "Sirius is--"  
  
"He wasn't the only Black left, you know." Remus cut in. "He had one family  
member left. Anneliese Brooke," he said.  
  
"Anneliese Brooke? Isn't she that singer?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yes, she is." Remus smiled.  
  
"Well, what's she got to do with it? She's not a Black, is she?" Hermione  
inquired.  
  
"Actually, she is. She can't go by Black, seeing that Sirius was held in prison for 13 years then went on the run." He led them through the brightly  
colored house to the kitchen.  
  
They went through the door to the kitchen and they noticed a girl slightly  
shorter than Harry talking on the phone. She had long dark hair that  
reached the middle of her back. As they entered, she quickly ended her phone conversation. She turned around, and a very pretty face was revealed. She had warm brown eyes and she revealed very white and even teeth when she  
smiled. "Anneliese, I'd like you to meet Ron," she shoke his hand.  
"Hermione," she shook her hand. "And Harry." She held out her highly  
polished hand and shook his.  
  
"Well, I'll leave you to it," Remus said to her. She nodded, and he went  
through the door to the dining room.  
"I'm so glad I finally get to meet you, everyone in the order talks so  
highly of you," she said, smiling. "So, er, do you want to go into the  
dining room? The rest of the order should be back soon with my friend  
Mindy, she's coming to stay for a few days.  
  
They walked into the dining room and Mrs.Weasley huried over to them. She hugged them all. She had not seen Ron for a few weeks, seeing as they had  
been staying with Hermione. She then hurried off and started cooking dinner. They chose their seats, Anneliese sitting next to Fred and Harry,  
Ron, and Hermione sitting across from her.  
  
"Hey, Harry, Ron, Hermione," said Fred. George (who was sitting next to  
him) smiled.  
  
"Hey, Fred, could you and George take their things upstairs?" she asked him  
sweetly.  
  
"Why can't they get them?" asked Fred.  
  
"Because, they've just arrived. They had a long journey and I'm sure  
they're tired," she said. She gave him a pleading look, and he sighed.  
  
"Ok, ok, we'll get them. C'mon, George."  
  
They both got up, took their things and dragged them upstairs.  
  
Ron looked at her, amazement spreading over his face. "How did you get them  
to do that?"  
  
Anneliese shrugged. "I dunno. I guess he can't say 'no' to me, in a sense,"  
she said and smiled.  
  
"So, um, how were you related to Sirius?" asked Hermione softly.  
  
"Oh, he was my father," she said. "My mother had drilled it into her head that he was a murderer, so I hadn't met him until earlier this year, when  
my mother died."  
"I'm so sorry," said Hermione, sympathetically.  
  
"Why? It's not your fault he died," Anneliese said, shrugging it off.  
  
"It's mine," said Harry, who still thought it had been his fault Sirius  
died.  
  
"It's no one's fault but Voldemort's," she said, looking at Harry.  
  
A few moments passed, with nothing but the sounds of the Order socializing. Until the doorbell rang, and Anneliese jumped up to answer it. She opened it, and in came Kingsley Shaklebolt, Nymphendora Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, and a girl they had never seen before. She had long blonde hair, sea-blue eyes, and oval-shaped glasses. She was wearing almost exactly what Anneliese was  
wearing: a blue halter top and a short jean skirt, with high-heal boots  
that reached her knees. She was very pretty.  
  
They hugged, and then Anneliese introduced her.  
  
"Everyone" she said, addressing the table full of people. "This is my friend, Mindy Maurez. She'll be staying here for a while." She smiled, then  
went around the table and introduced them all. She finished as Fred and George came down the steps. She turned to them, and Fred, knowing she was going to ask him to carry more luggage, took Mindy's bag and went back up  
the stairs. They both sat down.  
  
"So how has you're vacation been so far?" Anneliese asked her.  
  
"It's been okay, you know," Mindy said, but quickly changed the subject.  
"Why do you have to leave me? School will be horrible without you!"  
  
"I didn't choose to leave, I had to. And besides, we can still send  
letters!"  
"It won't be the same!" Mindy said whiningly. "Come with me then! You only live a few hours from here!" Anneliese said.  
"Yeah, because my parents would really let me do that," said Mindy,  
sarcastically.  
"Well then, letters will just have to do," said Anneliese. Just then, Mrs. Weasley came through the door, laden with dishes full of delicious looking food. She set them down in the middle of the table, and everyone started dishing up. Anneliese took very little food, saying she  
needed to "watch what she was eating", though in the others opinion she  
looked fine.  
Once again, the doorbell rang, and Anneliese got up to answer it. She opened the door, and Dumbledore stepped in, nodded to everyone around the table, and gave Anneliese his traveling cloak. She put it on the rack by  
the door.  
"Have a seat! We're just now sitting down to dinner!" she said to him. "I shall, Anneliese, thank you," he said, nodding to her, and she took her  
seat between Fred and Mindy. Professor Dumbledore sat down the row from the trio, and nodded to them. He looked tired and stressed, and they didn't blame him. He had been through a lot lately, with all the happenings with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. They all finished eating and were leaning back in their chairs, stomachs  
full and drowsiness falling over them. "Do you all like Quidditch?" Anneliese asked suddenly, startling them all.  
"Yeah," said Ron. "Why?"  
"Well, there's a game between Pride of Portree and Puddlemere United in  
about five minutes, and I can get the game on my TV. Do you want to go  
watch it?"  
"Yeah!" Harry and Ron said in unison. Hermione said nothing.  
She grinned. "Excellent! C'mon, let's go before we get stuck doing the dishes!" she quickly and quietly got up and went to the door, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mindy, Fred, and George behind her. The Order members were  
too busy talking to notice they had gone.  
They went up the stairs, all the way up to Anneliese's room, which was  
filled with many electronics. How they worked with all the magic around  
they did not know, though with the game drawing nearer they did not inquire. They all chose their seats, the television was turned on, and the  
game began. It started off with Puddlemere with the Quaffle, which was intercepted by a chaser of Portree, who attempted to throw it through the goal post, though  
was stopped by Keeper Oliver Wood. They all cheered with the crowd.  
"Their keeper this year is one of the best they've had in years. Wood,  
isn't it?" Anneliese asked.  
"Yeah. He was keeper for Gryffindor three years ago," Harry answered.  
"Gryffindor?" she asked confusingly.  
"It's a house at Hogwarts. There are also Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and  
Slytherin," Harry answered. "We're in Gryffindor," he added.  
"So you know Wood? Personally?" She looked impressed.  
"Yeah." "We should go to a game! Would you guys want to do that?" she asked them  
all during commercial break.  
"Yeah!" they all said, liking Anneliese more every minute.  
"I'll look into it. Maybe we can go before school starts," she said.  
"You're going to Hogwarts this year, aren't you?" Ginny asked her. "Yeah, I can't wait!" she exclaimed. "I'm supposed to be taking my O.W.L.'s  
soon, so I know what courses I'm going to take. Professor Dumbledore is supposed to tell me when I'm going to take them, but he hasn't given word  
yet."  
They turned their attention back to the game, just in time to see  
Puddlemere score a point. They again cheered.  
The game continued. In ten minutes time the score was 50-50.  
"Come on, get the snitch, you lazy –" Her words were drowned out by the cheers of the others as Puddlemere scored  
again. "Puddlemere United in the lead, 60-50, we go to a commercial break," said  
the TV announcer. Just then, there was a knock on the door. They jumped at the sound of it, but Anneliese quickly got up and opened it. Dumbledore came sweeping in,  
with his long white beard tucked into his belt, and his calm blue eyes  
staring down at them over his half-moon glasses, which sat on his long,  
crooked nose. He nodded to them all, and then turned to Anneliese. "Anneliese, I've received notification that your Ordinary Wizarding Level  
exams will be held this Saturday at noon. They will go on until late at  
night, so as to have enough time to finish your Astronomy exam. You may  
want to review your spells and potions, just to be careful." She nodded. "I have another question," she said, and he smiled warmly, his blue eyes twinkling down at her. "When will I be sorted? Will I be sorted  
separately, or—"  
"You will be sorted with the first years," he said, cutting her off. "I  
will explain the situation before hand, so you won't look like an –"  
"Idiot?" she finished his sentence. "Yes," he said and smiled. "But seeing as the whole Wizarding world knows  
you, I doubt that will be the case."  
Anneliese smiled. "Okay." He turned to leave but before he did, he reached into his cloak and pulled  
out five envelopes. He handed them to her. "The lists for you and your  
friends. When will you be going to Diagon Alley?" "Oh, I was thinking of going tomorrow, but I don't know if they wanted to  
come or not. Where is it, anyway?" "Diagon Alley is located in the back alley of the Leaky Cauldron. Three up,  
two across, right above the trash cans." "Okay, thanks," she said smiling, and he backed out of the room, nodding  
his head before finally closing the door. She went back over and sat on the couch. She gave everyone their letters. Knowing what was in them, they cast them aside, thinking no more of them,  
seeing as the game had come back on. 


	2. Trip to Diagon Alley

After the game had been finished, with Puddlemere winning 230-80, they sat around and talked about the happenings of the game for about twenty minutes, until Hermione brought up the subject of Anneliese's O.W.L.'s. "I'm not really scared, I'm used to pressure," she had said, obviously in what she thought was a calm voice, but turned out to be an anxious, worrying voice. "Will one of you maybe coach me, or something? Like, give me tips on what'll be on the tests and all." "I will," Harry volunteered, and she smiled. "When do you want to practice?" "Well, anytime, really. Would you mind doing it tonight?" "Not at all," Harry replied; he didn't care when or where they studied. "Great!" She said and smiled. "You all can watch the game reviews while we study." The others went and sat down on the couch as the discussion of the Quidditch game started. Anneliese and Harry, however, went to the corner of the room. "Okay," she said, while reaching into a drawer and pulling out a medium sized wand. "Where shall we start?" "I think we should start with Charms. What was the last charm you learned?" Harry asked her. "The summoning charm," she answered. "Okay, so you're a little behind. You'll have to learn all our charms, perfect them, and memorize them." He had a lot of work ahead of him. They worked well into the night after the rest had gone to bed working on the charms and spells. They got through most of the spells, though she had trouble with some, so they scheduled to practice again soon. They were all going to Diagon Alley in the morning, so they decided to call it a night. Anneliese followed him out of the door, after agreeing to walk him to the end of the hall. "You did really well tonight, Anneliese," Harry said when they reached the end of the hallway. "Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without you!" she said and smiled. "Well, goodnight, Anneliese!" he said as he turned to go down the stairs, but she held him back. "You can call me Anna," she said, her smile broadening. He smiled back at her, turned, and made his way through the house, in better spirits then upon his arrival.  
  
Ron threw a pillow at Harry. "Huh? What?," asked Harry as he awoke. "So, what happened with you and Anneliese last night?" Ron asked him grinning. "Nothing, I just taught her some of the charms and spells we learned last year," he said, yawning. "Did she tell you to call her 'Anna'?" he asked, grinning even broader. "Yeah, but—how did you know that?" he asked suspiciously. "Well," he said, and dropped his voice. "Fred said he came across her diary last week, and—" "He read it, I'm guessing?" Harry cut in. "Obviously. But it said that she only tells people to call her 'Anna' if she really likes them. As in, more than just friends," he said slyly. "He's mad 'cause she hasn't said that to him," he added smirking. Harry didn't say anything. He had been thinking about that since their parting. He hadn't heard anyone else call her 'Anna', not even Lupin or Mindy. He really liked her, and best of all, she liked him. "Come on Romeo, let's get downstairs, Juliet's calling," Ron said, again grinning. Harry couldn't help but let out a slight grin as they made their way through the house to where Anna was calling from. The smell of bacon and eggs met their noses halfway down the stairs to the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was cooking, and she served them toast with marmalade, bacon, and eggs. They took their plates and went down to the den. Anna was sitting next to Hermione and they were arguing about something, which sounded oddly like house-elves. "Hermione, they were raised to clean and make dinner, and they like doing it. They don't want to be free, and when you go parading your spew thing around, they get offended," Anna tried to reason. "S-P-E-W!" she said hotly. "Fine then," she said, "if you go around parading your S.P.E.W. thing around, they will get offended," she said. "Exactly what we've been trying to tell her for the past two years," Ron muttered to Harry before sitting down across from Hermione. Harry sat next to him. "Good morning, Harry, Ron," Anna said, nodding to each of them. She was wearing a light pink cap sleeve top and a black skirt with a pink satin bow around it and silver strap dragon stilettos. Around her neck was a silver fairy necklace that had dark pink wings. When everyone had eaten breakfast, she got up and got her purse and keys. "Is everyone ready?" she asked, checking her watch. "I think so," said Harry, as he, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny stood up. "Where's Mindy?" asked Hermione. "Oh, she said she's got stuff to do here. I just have to pick up a few things for her," she said. "Remus, we're leaving!" she yelled into the next room where Lupin was. "We'll be back in a little bit!" "Okay, have a good time!" he called back to her. Mrs. Weasley rushed into the den with her purse as everyone was walking over to meet Anna. "Here, you two, I'll give you some galleons to buy your school things," she said quickly to Ron and Ginny. Anna stopped her. "Mrs. Weasley, don't worry, I'll pay for their things." "Oh no, Anneliese, dear, you don't have to do that," she said kindly. "But I insist," she said stubbornly. "And besides, we have to go, it'll take less time if I just gave them money in Diagon Alley." She then opened the door and stepped out before they could argue any further. "Be careful, make sure no one follows you back," growled Moody, as she held the door open for the rest to follow. She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because people do that all the time!" she yelled back sarcastically, as she closed the door behind Harry. He received a sudden shock as he looked around the back yard, seeing as it was now a Quidditch field. There were even three golden goal posts on either side of the field for the keeper to defend. Across the other side was a building Harry guessed to be the garage. "Do you play?" Harry asked Anna, as they all walked across the field to the garage. "Yeah, if I have time," she answered, smiling, the sunlight shining across her face. "What position?" he asked. "Chaser," she answered, stepping carefully up the steps to the door of the garage, of which the others were filing through. Inside was a very expensive-looking car that she led them to. She went over onto the driver's side. The others piled in, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny sitting in the back, Harry up in front. Before putting the key into the ignition, she rummaged through the glove department and pulled out a pair of pink sunglasses. She put them on, readjusted her rear-view mirror, turned on her car, and opened the garage door. She backed out, closed the garage door, and set off down the alley. "Are you all buckled in?" she asked them, looking into her mirror. "Yeah, I think so," answered Hermione. "Okay." She turned on the radio. A voice said "You are listening to WIZ 98.7! Here are the Weird Sisters with 'Don't Know Why'!" A slow tune came on. Hermione looked anxious. "Don't you think you should concentrate on driving more than your – er – hair?" she asked, as Anna flipped her hair up and pinned it so it fanned out of her ponytail. She ignored Hermione's comment, but all the same placed her hands on the wheel and paid attention to the road it front of her. They talked for a while, until at last they reached the Leaky Cauldron, which was hidden sneakily among the other muggle shops. "So, we come in here, go out the back, and tap the bricks three up and two across?" she asked them, while walking across the street to the Leaky Cauldron. "Yeah," answered Harry, as they reached the pub and stepped in. Inside it was grungy, dark, and it lingered with the smell of pipe smoke. Anna didn't seem to like it at all. Tom the landlord came and greeted them with his regular toothless smile. Everyone in the pub stopped and stared at the group of them; some with their forks and spoons half-way to their mouths. A forced a smile upon her face, Anna led the way to the back as quick as her high-heeled stilettos would allow. She went out the door to the back alley, as the rest followed.  
  
She took out her wand, went next to the trashcans, and tapped the bricks above. Within seconds, the bricks had fallen back to reveal the wonderful brick street of Diagon Alley. "Whoa," Anna said, taking a step onto the brick. "This is way better than the junky place I had to shop at last year." She went farther down the street looking amazed. Everyone followed after her, grinning. She ripped open her letter and her eyes scanned down the supply list. "Okay, I have to get my uniform, where do I go to get that? Madam Malkin's?" she asked, carefully looking down at the shops in the alley. "Yeah," answered Hermione. "Okay, someone go with Anneliese to show her where she's to get everything," she said, looking around at them all. "Harry, why don't you?" "Sure," Harry said, and Anna smiled. "Great!" She took out her purse and got a few handfuls of silver and gold. She gave two each to Ron and Ginny. She did it as if she were simply handing out pamphlets for Spell back-firing awareness. Ron was looking amazed as he stared at the gold and silver in his hands. "Thanks," they both said to her. "No problem," she said, while zipping up her purse. "Well, shall we meet at the ice cream parlor at around eleven-o'clock?" asked Hermione. They all nodded in agreement and split up to buy their supplies. They went rather slowly down the alley, seeing as Anna was studying all the shop windows with amazement. When they reached Madam Malkin's, Harry opened the door and held it open for Anna. Madam Malkin came over and greeted them. She ushered Anna to the back room to be fit, and told Harry she would only be a minute. He didn't have to wait long until the bell on the door rang, and someone entered the shop. "What are you doing here, Potter?" asked the drawling voice. He didn't even have to see who it was. "I'm escorting Anneliese Black. Showing her around Diagon Alley, Malfoy," he replied, and Draco's eyes suddenly darted around the shop. "Anneliese is here?" He straightened his jacket and slicked back his hair. Anna came back into the room, as Madam Malkin hurried into the back to get Anna's robes. She had been fixing her shirt buttons, then, looking up, she noticed Draco and gave a small scream and hugged him, Draco giving Harry a smirk. "Draco? What are you doing here?" she asked, finally taking her arms from around his neck. "Oh, just picking up my school stuff," he answered coolly. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you for ages!" "Oh, you know. Around," she finished uneasily. "So how are you? It seems like it's been years!" "I'm doing great, how are you?" "I'm okay," she said, again sounding uneasy. "Only okay?" "Well, you know." She hesitated. "It still hurts." "I totally understand. We've all been through tough times, and this is one in particular. With You-Know-Who back and everything, it's not easy." Harry was unsuccessful in stifling a snort, making Draco and Anna look over at him. "So tell me, Anneliese," he looked at Harry in disgust. "What are you doing here with him? I could've showed you around." "Shut up, Draco," she said coolly. "The Order wouldn't have let me go with you. Especially with your Father and all." "Yeah, right." Draco forced a smile back on his face. Madam Malkin came bustling in from the back, with Anna's robes folded neatly in her arms. Anna excused herself and went to pay for them. Draco's forced smile faded away instantly and was replaced with his usual glare as he looked at Harry. "What do you think you're doing?" Malfoy asked as he made sure Anna was out of earshot. "Flirting with my cousin?" Harry's stomach dropped. How could he have been so stupid? He had totally forgotten that Anna was related to the Malfoys. "What is it to you?" Harry asked him, trying his hardest to remain cool. "She's my cousin, so I have some say in who she dates." Draco reduced his tone to a hiss. "If I find you've been hitting on her, or mistreating her, you'll have me to answer to." "Well, then I'll make sure not to," Harry said as seriously as he could. He couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Malfoy actually doing something to him. Anna came back dragging a huge shopping bag and wearing a disgruntled look on her face. "These uniforms are so," she hesitated. "Plain. And I hate the color black! They should make the uniforms more colorful, then I'd be happy to wear them!" "Harry dear, your robes need to be fit," called Madam Malkin from the fitting room behind the counter. "I'll wait out here for you," said Anna. She then turned to Draco and continued talking. Harry went to the fitting room and Madam Malkin began his fitting. He glared as he watched Anna and Malfoy talk to one another. He couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as they talked while Madam Malkin stuck him with pins. After minutes of standing still, she told him she was done and she would get his order ready. He quickly jumped from the stool and entered the waiting room where Anna and Malfoy stood. "That was quick," said Anna, and she looked over at Draco. "Would you like to come to the ice cream parlor with us? We're meeting Hermione Granger and Ron and Ginny Weasley there." Harry could've kicked her, but he restrained himself. "Ah, no thanks, I've got things to do, people to see," Malfoy said. "Oh, well, okay," she said, though she looked very put-out. "I guess I'll see you around then." "Yeah," replied Malfoy. "It was good to see you." He nodded to Anna before turning around and going out the door. "Here are your robes, Mr. Potter," called Madam Malkin, who was hurrying over to them with a big, bulging bag. She handed it to Harry and ushered them over to the counter where they were to pay. They both gave her three galleons for the orders and left, with the door closing behind them. "Okay, I need all this stuff," Anna said, indicating the list she had gotten from the envelope, as they walked down the alley. Harry then realized that he had never opened his Hogwarts letter, seeing as he had gotten one for the past six years and they all held the same things: a letter about catching the Hogwarts Express from Kings Cross Station at Platform Nine-and 3/4, and a supply list. But as he ripped open the envelope he was surprised to see there was another piece of parchment in it. He assumed it was a notice about something, but he opened it and found that it was a letter addressed to him from Professor McGonagall. It read: Dear Mr. Potter, I am pleased to inform you that you have been chosen to be captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team for your sixth, and hopefully seventh year at Hogwarts. Obviously, you've been chosen to be Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, after Miss Ginny Weasley's resignation from the team. We are hoping you find this news enjoyable. Yours Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress Harry stood there, stunned, as Anneliese read the letter over his shoulder. Him, Gryffindor Quidditch Captain? How could this have happened? "Wow," Anneliese said, as she finished reading the letter, and looked up at Harry. "Congratulations!" ()They continued their shopping and finished at about ten forty-five, just in time to get to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. The others were not yet there, so they were seated by Florean Fortescue, who put them at a table that would seat seven. He then took their order, and they sat talking underneath one of the huge brightly colored umbrellas. They talked of the game they had watched last night, and of Harry getting to be Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. At about five after eleven, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione arrived and took their seats at the table. Florean Fortescue came bustling over with a notepad and quill and took the others' orders. "Did you find everything?" Hermione asked Harry and Anna, and they both nodded. "You'll never guess who we saw at Madam Malkin's," Harry said to them, and Anna sighed. "Malfoy." "What happened? What did he say?" the other three asked them. Anna seemed to become extremely interested in her fingernails. "He said he'd have to make a call to Grimmauld Place if I mistreated Anna," he said, and they all stared at Anna. "How do you know him?" Ginny asked her, horrified. "Well, all pure-blood families are related, aren't they?" she said. "He's my cousin. Well, second cousin, actually." She rummaged through her purse and found a nail filer and began filing her nails. "That doesn't mean you have to like him," said Ginny. "I don't like Percy, but I can't help he's my brother!" she added and they all laughed, save Anna. "Well, see, my mother was a Death Eater, and she was very close to the Malfoys. So when they met up, Draco and I met up. So we basically grew up together." She continued filing her nails, even though they all were staring at her. "I grew up with Percy, but it still doesn't mean I like him," Ginny said, and Anna pursed her lips. "Once you get to know Draco, he's really nice," Anna said, finally looking up from her nail filer. "Okay, he can sometimes be a little rude, but –" "A little rude? Where have you been?" Ron asked rudely, and Anna glared at him. "You don't know him well enough to –" "To what? Know he's a pile of –" "Ron, if you don't shut up soon, you're going to have a time sleeping with no eyelids!" Anna said loudly. "Oh yeah, I'm really scared of you!" "Well, you should be, seeing as my father served thirteen years in Azkaban!" Anna looked furious. Ron was about to retort, when they were interrupted by two girls that looked not much younger than the rest of them. "May we join you?" asked the first girl, who was very pretty, with long dark, curly hair. She had light hazel eyes, with a tan and smooth complexion. The girl next to her was also very pretty, with blonde hair and a lightly tanned complexion. She had the most curious eyes; green, with thin streaks of purple in them. "Please do," Anna said bitterly, and she fixed Ron with an icy stare as the two girls sat in the vacant chairs. "Hi, I'm Melanie Ruetz," said the girl with the dark hair. "And this is my friend Kaylee Gryfinstock." "Hey Mel," Ginny said, as though they were old friends. "Mel and Kaylee are in Gryffindor, we're in the same year," she explained. "How has your guys' summer been so far?" "Oh, it's been fantastic!" Kaylee said. Melanie ordered what she wanted and Kaylee did the same. Ginny, Melanie, and Kaylee began talking about their summers so far. Anna continued her nail filing, much to Ron's disgust. Fifteen minutes later they were on the road heading for Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Anna had cooled down from the argument between herself and Ron, after Hermione had yelled at them both to shut up. They finally got to Grimmauld Place. They got out of the car, went out through the Quidditch field, and went into the house. It looked, and sounded, empty. "Hello?" Anna called as she walked through the door. She went into the kitchen and set the shopping bags down on the counter. "Fred? George? Mindy?" Fred appeared with a pop in the middle of the kitchen. "You rang?" "Where are the others?" Anna asked him. "George is with Mindy, and Mindy's in the drawing room. They're devising a plan for mass destruction. I'm supposed to be helping. The Order had to leave to do something. They wouldn't leave details." There was a call for Fred from a few rooms away. "I'm needed. See you later," he said, and apparated with a pop. They walked into the drawing room, and saw George and Mindy whispering among themselves, Fred looking over their shoulder. Anna made a loud coughing noise, and they quickly hid something in the desk drawer. "What are you doing?" Anna asked, folding her arms. "Um, uh," Mindy stuttered. "Nothing in particular. What are you doing?" "We just got back from Diagon Alley," Anna said, still eyeing them suspiciously. "We were just coming to see what you all are doing." Fred came over and shooed them away. "This is for your own safety," he said, and closed the door in Anna's face. They parted, Anna going to her room, Hermione and Ginny going into theirs, and Harry and Ron into theirs. They weren't sure on what they were going to do until Fred and George apparated into their rooms about fifteen minutes later, carrying a Quidditch ball crate. "You've finished your 'plan', I see," Harry said to them. "Yeah, we just had to fix all the technicalities," Fred said, grinning. "We've finished today's work, so do you want to go play some Quidditch?" "Would we ever say no to playing a game of Quidditch?" asked Harry. "We'll meet you down there in ten minutes!" "Excellent," said Fred and George in unison, and apparated. Five minutes later they were walking out onto the Quidditch field in the blazing sunlight. They saw the others had already mounted their broomsticks and were flying around playing what looked to be tag. Ron and Harry quickly mounted their brooms and shot up into the air, the wind slapping their faces. When they drew level with the others, they all stopped their game and flew slowly towards each other. They quickly explained how they would play. They would all be on one team and would try to throw the quaffle past Ron through the hoop, which Ron would try to block. At this Fred snorted and Ron went red. Anna glared at Fred. "What?" he asked sheepishly. "You haven't seen him play!" "No, but I've heard that he won the Quidditch Cup for his house team, so he must be good." Ron grinned and his ears turned even redder. "Don't give him a big head, Anneliese," Fred said to her, and she scowled as him. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, don't hurt me!" he said, and jokingly threw his arms over his head to protect himself. "Ha ha," Anna said sarcastically. "You're lucky I don't have my wand, Harry taught me a lot of useful curses!" Just as Fred was about to retort, George cut in. "Let's just get on with the game, shall we? I'll go get to quaffle." He flew toward the crate, which was on the edge of the field, and the rest took their positions. George threw the quaffle to Anna to start, and he went into his position. "Okay, Ron, concentrate, and pretend you're the only one of the field," she said to Ron, when he had flown into position. "Concentrate..." She threw the quaffle toward him, and without missing a beat he blocked it. They clapped, and Anna yelled "Good job!" to him. The redness in his ears returned as he threw the quaffle to George to try. George threw it toward him and he blocked it. Fred threw it, he blocked it. Harry, blocked it. Mindy, blocked it. He nimbly caught every one they threw. A big improvement from last year, thought Harry. Last year he couldn't block even one. Now he can block them every one. It continued for about a half-hour, with Ron catching all but three throws. Everyone but Anna was amazed. "I told you I knew he could," Anna said defiantly, as they stored all the equipment in a broom cupboard on the side of the field. They were halfway up the side walk when Remus emerged from the house. They quickly walked up to him. "About time you all got back," Anna said as she closed the door behind the rest of them. "I thought I might've had to cook, and I wouldn't want anyone getting sick," she said and smiled. "So what's up? Why did you all have to run off?" she asked him. "Business with the Order," he said. "I have someone I want you to meet," Remus said, and Anna's smile quickly vanished. 


	3. The Guardian

They followed Remus to the drawing room, and upon entering they found a teenage boy that looked no older than them. He was around six foot with a muscular build. He was wearing a heavy black trench coat, even though it was blazing hot outside. He smiled and nodded to them all.

"Everyone, this is Eden Moseley. Eden, this is everyone," Remus said, and introduced all of them to the boy Eden. "Eden is the newest member of the Order."

"I see," Anna said, eyeing him suspiciously. Shaking it off, she turned to Remus. "I think I'll go study for my O.W.L.'s." She turned and left the room, with the rest still standing there with Eden and Remus. Remus raised an eyebrow, and then sighed.

"Well at least she hasn't taken after her father," she said, then led Eden out of the room.

"Studying, yeah right," said Fred, as he sat down in one of the chairs and took a bite of an apple off the table. "More like devising a plan to get rid of that chap. I should go help her."

"Get rid of Eden? Why would she do that?" asked Hermione, as she too took a seat.

"Because he's been assigned to be her guardian," answered George. The rest took seats as well.

"Guardian?" Harry asked.

"You know when people were assigned to follow you last year, Harry? Well, it's like that, only one person gets to, and they go with you everywhere. Anneliese has gone through about three in the past month."

"I guess she's more like her father than Remus thinks," Ron said.

"I don't know why he thinks that," said Hermione. ""It's obvious she's just like Sirius. I've known her for a day and I've already figured that out."

"I just think Remus is trying to get himself to believe she's not." Fred said.

"What's so wrong with that?" Harry asked. "Sirius was a good man!"

"Yes, he was a good man," said Hermione. "But he acted rash and was uncareful of a lot of things."

"I don't see how you can call Anna 'rash' and 'uncareful'. I haven't seen any evidence of that," Harry said.

"Well you haven't been paying very close attention then, have you?" Hermione said.

"Oh, he's been paying attention, alright," Fred said, grinning. "To her back ----"

"Fred!" Mrs. Weasley said, sternly as she entered the room. "Don't you dare finish that sentence!"

"Yes, mum," he said, and the Weasley children burst into silent laughter, but were unsuccessful in hiding their laughter from Mrs. Weasley.

"Laugh while you can, children," she said, and continued. "Lunch is ready in the dining room." She left the room.

They all left the drawing room and went to the dining room. As they entered they could tell that the Order had just had a meeting. They members that hadn't left immediately, but had stayed to talk, were now filing out through the door. Tallest of them all, and still talking, was Dumbledore. As they approached the table he looked at them, smiled his warm, blue-eye- twinkling smile, said his goodbyes, and departed.

Bill, Edan, and Remus were discussing something, while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were as well. Anna sat in the very last seat, with pieces of parchment scattered in her space. She hadn't touched her sandwich. As they approached her she attempted to collect all the pieces of parchment in her arms, but resulted in knocking over her ink bottle.

While she cleaned the mess up with a rag, Fred grabbed a piece of parchment out of Anna's arms. She tried to snatch it back, but he held it out of her reach and read it loud enough for the ones closest to them to hear.

"'Plans to get rid of Moseley! Badger him,' come now, Anneliese, you can do better than that! Why don't you lock him in a dungeon and don't let him out for a few days?" He continued reading down the list "'Ignore him', oh believe me, that never works. 'Lead him to the Forbidden Forest and conveniently 'forget' about him.' "Fred thought for a minute. "This is pretty impressive! You'll have him gone in no time!"

Anna ripped it out of his hand and put it into her pile. She raised her wand, said the vanishing spell, and the pile disappeared. She wiped the rest of the ink up and threw the rag on the floor under the table. Her hands had many dark scarlet stains from the ink. She looked bitter.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Hermione asked Anna, who was staring unblinkingly into empty space.

"Not hungry," Anna said shortly.

"Come on, you have to eat something," Hermione said to her.

"I don't feel like eating," she said, with a faraway look in her eye.

"Whatever you say," Hermione said uneasily, and continued eating her lunch.

Anna sat there most of the day, doing nothing but staring at nothing in particular with her chin resting on her hand. She looked deep in thought, and would not answer to anyone. Remus finally sat down by her and talked to her quietly, so no one else could hear.

"You want to know what's up with me?" Anna said finally, after many minutes of talking with Remus. "I'll tell you 'what's up' with me! You for some reason, think that I need a bodyguard with me 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You've given me four in the last month. Four! My father just died, and finally when I'm happy, you send out for a replacement guardian!" She was now on her feet, yelling at Remus. He stood up.

"You want to know why I hire guardians for you?" His voice was steadily rising in anger. "I hire you guardians because I don't want you to have the same fate your father did! You and Harry are the last living relatives of my best friends! I only want the best for you!"

"Then why don't you get him a bodyguard? Why not get "the famous Harry Potter" someone to watch his every move?"

"Because you now are in more danger than Harry!" There was silence. They and everyone around them were stunned, staring with bated breath. Anna was the first to speak.

"But, but, who – what – how?" she stuttered. "Voldemort's after him, how am I in more danger?"

"It's a long story, and even if I could tell you I wouldn't. I've already told you more than I was supposed to have." Anna ran up the stairs, and Remus sighed.


	4. Sympathy, Questions, and Odd Looks

Anna stayed in her room the rest of that night and the next day. No one had heard a thing out of her for the whole time being up there.

After breakfast two days after her barricading herself in her bedroom, Mrs. Weasley gave Harry a tray with pancakes, syrup, silverware, and a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Run this up to Anneliese, will you dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked him and he nodded. "Thank you," she said and smiled.

When he reached her door, he took a deep breath, ready for Anna to blow off the steam that had most likely built up in her for the past three days. He suddenly realized how his friends had felt last year. He rapped on the door a few times. There was a pause, before –

"Who is it?" she asked weekly.

"It's me, Harry," he called. "I've brought you some breakfast."

"I'm not hungry," she called back.

"You haven't eaten for days, so unless you're a skilled Gandhi-ist, I know you're hungry."

"Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk to anyone," she said.

"Come on, you have to talk to someone. I was the same way after our fourth year, after Cedric Diggory died. I wouldn't let anyone talk about it. But then I realized to let all my feelings out, and to get over it quicker, I had to talk to someone."

"So you think I'm just going to 'get over' it? Fat chance of that," she said dully.

"I'm not saying you can have to get over it. I'm not saying you can get over it. It's been fifteen years and I haven't got over my parents. I never will."

"Yeah, I guess. But I still want to know how I'm in danger. Even more danger than you."

"I'd like to know that, too," Harry said. "But it doesn't look as if Remus is going to give in anytime soon."  
  
"Maybe if you tell him I'll come out if he tells me! Then I'll –"

"Then you'll be fearful every waking moment of the day. And I'm not being your messenger."

"Fine," she said and paused. "What kind of breakfast did you bring?"

"Open the door and you'll see," Harry called through the door, and a second later he was staring at a pair of fuzzy pink slippers. He looked up and saw the pale face of Anna. She had bags under eyes and looked exhausted. She has the very slight look Sirius had had after coming out of Azkaban, gaunt and sleep-deprived.

"Pancakes?" she said, slightly disappointed. "I don't like pancakes."

"You don't like pancakes?" Harry asked her. "How can you not like pancakes? Especially Mrs. Weasley's pancakes!"

She ignored the question. "Did she have bacon? Or eggs?"

"No," he said, and seeing her face drop, added, "but I'm sure she'd make you whatever you want."

"Okay," she said. "So, you coming downstairs?" he asked her.

"I dunno," she said. "Couldn't Mrs. Weasley send up some food with you?"

"When I say I'm not going to be your messenger, that means I'm not being your servant either," Harry replied, and grinned. "C'mon downstairs. I'm sure everyone will be thrilled to see you."

"Yeah, right," she said dully. But all the same she moved towards the door to where Harry was standing.

For a second Harry stood there like an idiot. Even though she looked gaunt and sleep-deprived, she was still very pretty and had an uncanny resemblance to Sirius.

Suddenly, realizing what he was doing, he started back down the hallway, Anna trailing behind him. They got to the kitchen and entered. The only ones in the room were Remus, Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Weasley. Remus and Mr. Weasley were sitting at the table, while Mrs. Weasley brewed them coffee.

They all looked up as they entered, and Mrs. Weasley abandoned the coffee and took the tray from Harry.

After Mrs. Weasley hugged Anna, Anna asked her if would make her some bacon and eggs. Mrs. Weasley bustled off at once, getting the frying pan out of a cupboard and magicking three eggs from the refrigerator. After getting the pan greased and the eggs on, she magicked bacon and a pan and started that. In minutes she had made a breakfast of bacon and eggs for Anna.

"There you go, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, placing the plate and glass of orange juice in front of Anna. Anna thanked Mrs. Weasley and began eating.

Everyone stared at her as she ate, and finally, she said "I can't stand being stared at while I eat," and took her plate into the dining room to finish it.

Remus poured himself some coffee. "I worry about her sometimes," he said, sat down, and continued talking to Mr. Weasley.

"So what were you saying about that article in _Rita Weekly_?" Remus asked, as he added sugar to his coffee and took a drink.

"Ah, yes," Mr. Weasley said, took a long sip of coffee, and continued his story. "Cafard has been rumored to be a Death Eater by one of the writers of _Weekly_. Well, when he saw Weekly, he had a fit, and attempted to curse the editor." He took another drink. "Obviously, that didn't help him when the editor of Weekly turned up at his trial as piece of evidence."

Harry, who had no clue what so ever about Cafard and the _Weekly_ they were talking about, went into the study to find Ron and Hermione sitting at the table, both working on something.

"Ron, think realistically. I doubt we could get the whole of the Chudley Cannons to come, not matter how famous he is. And besides, we have to think of what –" Hermione looked up, and, seeing Harry, shoved the parchment (which Ron had been writing on), into the desk drawer.

"Hey, Harry," she said, blushing and looking scared about something. She elbowed Ron in the ribs, who was still frowning about the parchment being grabbed away so quickly.

"Oh, hey, Harry," he said, glaring for a moment at Hermione, then looking at Harry. "So did you get Anneliese to eat?"

"Yeah, after a few failed attempts." Harry replied. "So, what was all that," he gestured at the drawer, "about?"

"Oh, just some prefect stuff Dumbledore sent us. Wants our opinions and suggestions on a ball they might hold this year." Hermione replied, and Ron nodded vigorously.

"Ah," Harry replied, but he had a feeling it was something other than that. But he didn't feel like pressing any further.

"Well, I think I'll go catch up on some homework, or something." Harry went up to his room and dug into his trunk.

At the very bottom he found what he was looking for, a leather-bound book, the book Hagrid had given him five years ago. He flipped to the first page, a picture of his mother and father, dancing, laughing.... The second page, his mother cradling baby Harry wrapped in a blanket.... The third page, his father smiling and laughing with a very young- looking Remus. The fourth page, their wedding day, his mother in a long, flowing gown, his father in a black tuxedo, and next to him was Sirius, smiling, happy for his best friend. Harry looked into the face of his godfather. He looked extremely different, not yet laden with all the unhappiness Azkaban had laid upon him. He looked complete; he looked as if all he had ever wanted was James to be happy.

Harry shut the book with a snap and threw it into his trunk. He put his face in his hands and sat on the edge of his bed. Tears fell onto the floor, splattering over the wood work.

He didn't know what he felt. He felt all emotions at once. He was mad at Bellatrix Lestrange, he was happy that Sirius could once again see his best friends. He felt guilty, for if he hadn't gone running off to the Department of Mysteries, Sirius might still be alive. He was angry at himself. He was scared for what was yet to come. He was confused....

Just then a knock came at the door. He wiped his tears away on his shirt sleeve.

"Yes?" he asked whoever was at the door.

"Molly's served lunch, c'mon downstairs." It was Remus.

"I'll be down in a bit," Harry called, and waited until the footsteps had faded to get up. He crossed the room, and, looking into the mirror in the slightly-open wardrobe, noticed his eyes were a bit red, but not too bad. He'd be able to pass it off if he kept his head down through lunch. Sympathy, questions, and odd looks were the last thing he needed at the moment.


	5. Week of the OWL's

I wonder if I have any readers at all..Please review, peoples-that-may-be-reading-this-but-I-highly-doubt-that-anyone-is! It would make my day!

BTW, I don't own any of the characters in this story. Other than the ones I created based on my friends (Mindy, Anneliese, Melanie, Kaylee, ect.), it all belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling.

Big thanx to Robbie Veltman, who revised many of the chapters of this story. However, I think he blocked me on Yahoo and AIM, so I'm gonna have to find a new reviser. Snaps.

Chapter 5 - Week of the O.W.L.'s  
  
On the week leading up to Anna's O.W.L.'s, she didn't seem to be stressing about it. She did seem to wake up a lot later than usual, with bags under her eyes, making them presume she had been staying up all night studying.  
  
When Friday, the first day of Anna's O.W.L testing came, Mrs. Weasley cooked a larger breakfast for Anna than the others, and Hermione quizzed her as they ate.  
  
As she was getting ready to leave with Mr. Weasley, (she would be testing at the Ministry of Magic) they all wished her the best of luck, and Remus, Tonks, and Mrs. Weasley gave her hugs and quick words of advice. She came back that day and every day that week looking exhausted.  
  
This didn't stop her from being the wild, crazy girl she was. She pranced about, cooking up crazy schemes with Fred and George and giggling madly with Mindy.  
  
Lupin, Mrs. Weasley, and even Hermione disapproved of this. They thought that all the time she spent planning a prank attack on Snape could be put to better use, such as studying.  
  
Dumbledore, however, thought she was going about it the right way. "The more Anneliese stresses, the more likely she get a bad report," he said, his blue eyes twinkling as he sat for a quick but delicious dinner. "Not that she shouldn't study, of course," he said, bringing his gaze down upon her. Anna smiled and took a bite of her Shepard's Pie.


End file.
